SPACEFLIGHT
Good future forecast for Goes
WASHINGTON D.C.
Weather satellites under
development by Ford Aero
space for Nasa and the
US National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) will provide better
short-term forecasting and
accurate local storm warn
ings.
Under a $276 million
contract Ford is building
three geostationary oper
ational environment satel
lites, Goes I, J and K, for
launch by Shuttle starting in
1989. The contract includes
options for two more
satellites, Goes L and M. Each
spacecraft will have a five-
year design life.
Unlike earlier spin-
stabilised Goes craft built by
Ford and Hughes Aircraft, the
latest Goes series is three-axis
stabilised, based on tech
nology proven on Ford's Insat
I satellite for India. The
change allows spacecraft
SOLAR ARRAY
T&C ANTENNA
EARTH SENSORS
S BAND TRANSMIT
ANTENNA
SOUNDER APERTURE
IMAGER APERTURE
SAR ANTENNA
SOLAR SAIL
sensors to stare continuously
at the Earth.
ITT is supplying the imager
and sounder sensors which
will operate simultaneously to
produce Earth images and
temperature profiles. Full
Earth disc measurements will
be produced every half hour in
five different spectral bands
with a resolution in the visible
band of 1km, says Ford.
Goes craft are procured and
tested in orbit by Nasa then
handed over to NOAA for
operation. Ford built the first
three Goes craft. Goes 1 was
launched in October 1975 and
operated until early 1985,
exceeding its three-year
design life by 65 years.
The Goes craft will supple
ment the Sarsat-Cospas inter
national search and rescue
programme which by mid-
1985, when declared fully
operational, had successfully
located 194 distress calls
worldwide, resulting in the
rescue of 473 people.
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